Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 486 - 455 - Are you selling this merit?_2

Chapter 486: Chapter 455 - Are you selling this merit?_2

"Thank you, Capital Commandant!"

Commander Song must have felt immensely proud and vindicated today.

General Du also immediately ordered his nephew to lead his elite troops to begin the siege and commanded the whole army to attack at will.

Changsun Wudiao realized that even if he were to rush into Baizhou City now, he wouldn’t be able to earn any great merit.

"All troops, heed my command: divide into left, central, and right armies. Ten squads for the left army, ten squads for the right army, five for the central army. The left army shall circle north of the city to ambush escaping soldiers. The right army shall circle south of the city to ambush escaping soldiers. The central army will follow me for a mobile pursuit!"

By sunset, the entirety of Baizhou City was under the control of the Sui Army.

General Du sat contentedly in the main hall of the Baizhou City Government Office.

After all, his orders had been to launch a surprise attack on Baizhou City, and strategist hadn’t expected him to capture the city—merely to tie down its army.

Now that he had captured the city as well, he felt that General Yuchi An would certainly praise him upon his arrival.

At this moment, Commander Song entered to make his report.

"Reporting to General Du, my unit of one thousand, two hundred and seven men, saw two hundred and fifty-seven fall in the assault on the city, with sixty-eight severely wounded and two hundred and sixty-nine lightly wounded,"

"We captured one hundred and thirty-five men of the Northern Qi Army. Furthermore..."

As he spoke, Commander Song’s lips couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

"Additionally, the first man over the wall was our standard-bearer, Wang Junwu. This man, brave and daring, was the first to scale the walls of Baizhou City, the first to cut down the Northern Qi Army’s flag, and the first to raise our own banner atop the wall."

General Du immediately chuckled and warmly asked, "Where is Wang Junwu?"

Commander Song bowed and said, "Reporting to General Du, Wang Junwu is waiting outside."

General Du gestured for Commander Song to come closer and then whispered something in his ear.

After hearing what was said, Commander Song’s expression drastically changed, and he stared at General Du in shock, asking, "This... this isn’t appropriate, is it?"

"Eh? You don’t understand, do you? What do soldiers seek? Is it to have a smooth career path? To get promoted and make a fortune? No! What these soldiers of the Great Sui Army yearn for is to protect their country and keep their families safe! Since he has done so well as a standard-bearer, it proves that he’s suited for that role, right?"

Commander Song was momentarily speechless—he felt there was something wrong with General Du’s words, yet they seemed to make sense in such a way that he couldn’t object.

"Moreover, I said we aren’t just taking the merit; we’re buying it! Buying, do you understand? Don’t worry, the price will be enough for him to leave the army and live out his days as a carefree elder in the countryside."

Seeing the look in General Du’s eyes, Commander Song knew that if he said anything else that General Du didn’t want to hear, his own meritorious deeds could lead to misfortune instead.

So, he could only give a respectful bow and withdraw to see Wang Junwu.

"Wang Junwu, come here."

With a serious face, Commander Song took Wang Junwu aside to a secluded corner, grinned, and struggled to find the words to begin.

After all, such a matter was incredibly difficult to broach.

Seeing the embarrassed look on Commander Song’s face, Wang Junwu laughed and said, "Commander Song, you can speak frankly. Is it about a small reward? To tell you the truth, I also... surely there’s still a reward, right? It doesn’t matter if it’s less; my purpose in joining the army was to earn military honors, as long as I can..."

Wang Junwu halted in mid-sentence, noticing Commander Song’s knees beginning to buckle, and immediately reached out to support him.

Sure enough, just as Wang Junwu extended his hand, Commander Song indeed tried to kneel before him.

"Wang Junwu, I, as your commandant, have let you down!"

Wang Junwu quickly steadied Commander Song.

Commander Song said through gritted teeth, "General Du has decided he wants to buy your military merits for his nephew. The price is negotiable. A Hundred Taels of Gold. If that’s not enough, we can discuss further! With that sum, you’ll be set for the second half of your life, but... I... alas... Wang Junwu, I have let you down. I bloody well can’t even protect the military accomplishments of my own men! I..."

Smack—

As he spoke, Commander Song slapped his own face.

Wang Junwu didn’t expect Commander Song to be so upright; he hadn’t even reacted before Commander Song slapped himself hard enough to redden his face.

Wang Junwu immediately stopped Commander Song and said with a smile, "Commander Song, I, Wang Junwu, know you’re a good person. Otherwise, why didn’t you go to other commands with connections and backgrounds when you joined the army? Why come to your command? You know your status in the army, you don’t need me to tell you."

Commander Song nodded shyly, his face growing redder.

"Since General Du didn’t directly snatch my credits but offered me money, it proves that General Du still cares about his reputation. I can let go of the credits, and I don’t even want the money. You just tell General Du that I’m a very understanding guy who doesn’t want the money, but only to serve as his personal guard and hang around him. Aren’t there plenty of opportunities for accolades in the future?"

Commander Song was stunned and his brain failed to react for a while.

"Rest assured, I’m not just speaking out of anger. I don’t want a penny; I’m happy just serving as General Du’s personal guard. Of course, if I could be the deputy team leader or something, that would be even better. As for the exploit, I was just following General Du’s orders to protect his brother-in-law as he climbed the city wall, I was the second up, his brother-in-law the first!"

Commander Song sighed, feeling that Wang Junwu said this to avoid putting him in a difficult spot, and he felt even more ashamed and uncomfortable.

"Alright. I’ll go talk to him! But it’s fine if you don’t want the money, as for my subordinates’ credits, I still want my share of the reward. I’ll give it to you secretly after I get it!"

After saying this, Commander Song turned around to look for General Du.

General Du certainly didn’t expect that Wang Junwu would be such a clever man.

Giving him a sum of money, which seemed nice, was but a trivial profit.

The main credit for taking down Baizhou City was worth a thousand pieces of gold, yet he asked for nothing and only wanted to stay by General Du’s side as his personal guard.

Indeed, he was capable. If he became his personal guard, and later his confidant, he would naturally rise to high ranks effortlessly.

In the long run, this one-time credit seemed insignificant.

...

At the east gate of Baizhou City, outside, Changsun Wudiao, leading his troops, escorted back the prisoners of the Northern Qi Army they had captured along the way, amounting to more than two thousand six hundred men, and even seized over one hundred and eighty carts of supplies.

They had even captured three of the Northern Qi Army’s commandants alive.

Yet as soon as he returned, he heard the shocking news.

The credit for being the first to scale the wall unexpectedly went to Zhao Erbao, General Du’s brother-in-law.

Was this madness?

In front of both armies, under the eyes of all, it was Wang Junwu who first climbed the walls of Baizhou City, yet the credit went to General Du’s brother-in-law?

Enraged, Changsun Wudiao immediately rode his horse at full speed towards the government office in Baizhou City.

However, just as he was about to reach the government office, a tall figure suddenly walked out from the alley next door and raised a hand to block his war horse.

"Who dares to stop... Wang Junwu!?"

Wang Junwu gave Changsun Wudiao a faint smile and said, "I knew you would come."

"You can still smile? Your credit has been stolen! Come with me, I’m going to get justice for you!"

Wang Junwu shook his head with a smile and replied, "It doesn’t matter."

"Nonsense! Credits earned through life and death battles, and you just let others have them for free?"

Wang Junwu took a step forward, came in front of Changsun Wudiao, and whispered, "On the surface, it looks like I’ve got the merit but not the credit, and that I’ve voluntarily become General Du’s personal guard, which seems shameful. But..."

"In battles between two armies, the dangers are countless. What good is it for you to go against a person like General Du, who only values his confidants and treats others as cannon fodder?"

"But it’s different for you by his side."

"As for feelings of injustice, the one who laughs last laughs best. If you’re willing to help me, when it’s time to go to battle, stay closer to General Du. In case something unfortunate happens to General Du, you’ll be in a position to take over the command of the troops."

At that moment, Changsun Wudiao couldn’t help thinking of that night when Zhang San lost face in Mei Fei’s army, but the old man said Zhang San won the stake.

This scene was almost identical to the current situation of Wang Junwu.

"Wang Junwu, oh Wang Junwu, you’re really similar to my Brother San! I must introduce the two of you someday!"

"Hahaha... I bet, your Brother San is definitely not as formidable as my Brother San!"